Kalman R. Hettleman, The Abell Foundation
October 2004
This report provides a sweeping critique of problems with special education in Baltimore's public schools. Hettleman gives a ground-up account of these problems, describing both underlying causes and administrative glitches. The instruction and funding provided for special ed students are often insufficient to help students make adequate progress, Hettleman writes, and schools conceal this failure by exaggerating student achievement and practicing social promotion. The report gives a good overall sense of how such practices occur on the administrative level and how damaging they are. Hettleman does an admirable job of analyzing recent federal court rulings on special education and explaining how NCLB is violated by Baltimore's failure to implement research-driven instructional practices. He also makes clear that Baltimore's problems are mirrored across much of the nation. Overall, the analysis is well-researched and the author's prose passionate and convincing. Check it out here.